A Twist of Fate
by EEBinx
Summary: Following the end of A Turn of Events/ Half-Blood Prince, we pick up with A Twist of Fate/ Deathly Hallows. What will happen with Draco and Ginny?
1. Chapter 1: Dark Days

**A/N: I am still working on this (I have three chapters done and two chapters mapped and just waiting to be filled out).**

 **But before something else happens, I wanted to start posting! So here you are, my Loves! Thank you ever so much for your patience!**

 **The sequel to A Turn of Events; A Twist of Fate! We pick up right at the start of Deathly Hallows.**

 **Some material taken from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, chapter 1. I own nothing you recognize; that is the property of J.K. Rowling.**

A Twist of Fate

Chapter 1: Dark Days (Draco)

Draco sat in his chair at the long table in silent horror as the inert, upside-down body of Professor Burbage hung before him, slowly rotating. He could see her eyes flickering as she became conscious after the last round of torture she had endured at the hands of Voldemort. He had never taken any of her classes, of course, but he had seen her for the last six years sitting at the staff table with the rest of the teachers. He had never paid her the slightest attention before, but now he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

His eyes flicked to the door when the two men they had been waiting for finally entered. Snape, followed by Yaxley came in and took their seats as the Dark Lord directed and the meeting began. Draco's gaze was again drawn to the woman magically bound before him as she turned once again to face him. He felt sick at the pleading in her eyes knowing there was nothing he could do. The others were talking about the big Harry Potter ambush they had planned, but Draco paid little attention because he was not to be going on this mission—that is, until he heard his father's name.

It seemed that Voldemort had asked to use his father's wand to kill Harry with and in reaction, his father had made the involuntary movement to receive Voldemort's own wand in exchange. Draco swallowed as all attention was now on their small family.

"Give you my wand, Lucius? _My_ wand?" Voldemort's red eyes widened maliciously as the others around the table sniggered.

"I have given you your liberty, Lucius, is that not enough for you? But I have noticed that you and your family seem less than happy of late…. What is it about my presence in your home that displeases you, Lucius?"

"Nothing – nothing, my Lord!" replied his father barely above a whisper.

"Such _lies_ , Lucius…" hissed Voldemort's cold voice, echoing around the room. Then Draco felt goosebumps rise up his arms as he realized Nagini had just made her way into the room and under the table. She nudged the toe of his shoe and he had to suppress a shudder.

Draco's eyes shifted from Professor Burbage's to his father's profile nervously. It seemed their façade was crumbling. He noticed his mother staring straight ahead and turned to follow suit, his eyes drawn like magnets to the woman who continued to stare at him, tears now flowing in desperation up her forehead and into her tangled and dirty hair.

Voldemort continued to taunt them, now with the menacing snake draped across his shoulders while he absently stroked it, its eyes unblinking. "Why do the Malfoys look so unhappy with their lot? Is my return not the very thing they professed to desire for so many years?"

"Of course, my Lord," said his father, wiping sweat from his upper lip with a shaking hand. "We did desire it—we do."

Draco glanced quickly at the head of the table where Voldemort sat and away again; it terrified him to make eye contact, but he wanted to see the reaction his father's words received. He felt repulsed when his Aunt nearly simpered in their defense, but it fell on deaf ears anyway.

"What say you, Draco?" asked the Dark Lord. "Will you babysit the cubs?" The fact that blood family had married a werewolf (and the fact that Draco had been taught under said werewolf) had made them subject to further disgrace in Voldemort's and all others' eyes. Draco knew not to answer. He had learned quickly when it was and was not safe to respond to an inquiry from Voldemort. One round of the Cruciatus for not completing his task was all it took). Instead, he merely shot his father a glance, but got nothing from him.

"You must prune your family tree to keep it healthy. Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest," continued Voldemort.

"Yes, my Lord. At the first chance!" whispered his Aunt with tears in her eyes. Draco felt sickened.

"Do you recognize our guest, Severus?" asked Voldemort.

And as she slowly turned to face him, she managed to say in a cracked voice, "Severus! Help me!" before turning past him.

"Ah, yes," said Snape, his eyes flickering past her shoulder to meet Draco's in the briefest of moments.

"And you, Draco?" asked Voldemort, still stroking Nagini's snout.

Draco shook his head jerkily and stared at his hands in his lap; he couldn't take the pain and fear in Burbage's eyes anymore because he knew her time was up.

Voldemort continued speaking but Draco tried to block out his words. He closed his eyes when he heard her beg Snape to help her one more time.

" _Avada Kedavra_ ," said Voldemort with contempt.

Draco jumped so horribly at the sound of her now lifeless body crashing into the table that he found himself on the floor. He had to swallow back bile so as to not make a complete fool of himself in front of everyone when he heard Voldemort speak for the last time that night.

"Dinner, Nagini."


	2. Chapter 2: Darker Nights

A Twist of Fate

Chapter 2: Darker Nights (Ginny)

Ginny waited in agitation. Something wasn't right. Something had happened—something bad, she just knew it.

"They should have been here by now," fussed her mum, wringing her hands while voicing Ginny's inner monologue as they crossed each other's paths just inside the back door.

The Order had come up with a brilliant plan to get Harry away from his Aunt and Uncle's house and to the Burrow just as soon as they had cleared his family and they no longer called it home. It was brilliant in that as he was still not of age yet. The idea was no one would expect them to try anything for another week and the plan was that Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Fleur, and Mundungus Fletcher would take Polyjuice Potion to look like Harry, then the seven Harry's (including the real Harry, of course) would ride with Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, her dad, Lupin, Bill, Mad-Eye, and Hagrid respectively, would fly to various safe houses before catching portkeys to the Burrow. All the precautions were just in case, but they had been so confident that it would all work out… now Ginny wasn't so sure.

Finally there was a flash of blue and the hulking shadow of Hagrid and the much smaller one of Harry appeared out of nowhere. Ginny felt her anxiety bubble over and burst forth in a scream as she and her mum ran down the steps. Hagrid had collapsed and was clambering laboriously to his feet while Harry was swaying when Ginny grabbed his arm to steady him.

Her mum was throwing questions at Harry to find out what had happened to the others.

"What d'you mean? Isn't anyone else back?" he panted.

Ginny bit her lip and shook her head.

"The Death Eaters were waiting for us," Harry explained desperately. "We all split up; I don't know what happened!"

"Well, thank goodness you're all right," said her mum wrapping them both in a tight hug.

Hagrid had finally gained his footing and requested a brandy "fer medicinal purposes", and her mother hurried back into the house. Ginny explained to them that Ron and Tonks should have come back first with a rusty oil can that lay in the grass a few feet from them and then pointed to an old sneaker a few feet from that that should have been her dad and Fred's.

"You two were third and," she glanced at her watch, "if they made it, George and Lupin should be here any minute."

By then her mum was back with a full bottle of brandy and had just handed the bottle to Hagrid when Ginny saw a blue light several feet away. "Mum!" she shouted as she started running towards it.

It grew larger and brighter and then suddenly George and Lupin appeared, but Ginny could tell something was wrong. Lupin was holding George up as he appeared unconscious and he was covered in blood. Harry quickly caught up with her and grabbed George's legs to help Lupin carry him into the house. Ginny followed them in and hurried to the kitchen to grab clean towels and to wet one. When she turned to go to the living room, however, she watched in shock as Lupin dragged Harry by his arm to the middle of the room and began questioning him.

"What creature sat in the corner the first time that Harry Potter visited my office at Hogwarts?"

Harry blinked in his shock, but answered quickly, "A—a grindylow in a tank, wasn't it?"

Lupin fell back against the cupboard by Ginny and she eyed him wearily but knew she would be of better use to her mother and George. She left them to it and hurried to the couch where Lupin and Harry had laid George and began gently wiping the blood away. Her mum was quietly waving her wand in a complicated pattern. Ginny desperately wanted to ask if he would be ok and if she could fix his ear but knew now was not the time. She gingerly lifted George's head and put several layers of towels under his still bleeding wound as a commotion sounded from the yard drawing her attention for a moment. When Ginny looked back at where George's ear had been, she thought that it appeared to be bleeding much less.

A few minutes later Harry entered. "How is he?"

The bleeding had finally stopped and her mum was just stroking his hair now. "I can't make it grow back, not when it's been removed by Dark Magic. But it could have been so much worse… He's alive."

"Thank God," said Harry, looking guilty.

Ginny tried to distract him from those thoughts. "Did I hear someone else in the yard?" she asked.

"Hermione and Kingsley-"Harry started but yet more shouting drew their attention.

Ginny could count the times she had ever heard her father shout on one hand. "I'll prove who I am, Kingsley, after I've seen my son, now back off if you know what's good for you!"

Ginny jumped up when she saw him standing in the doorway with Fred right behind him, their faces sweaty and her father's glasses askew, but they were uninjured, and she sighed with relief.

Her mother sobbed at the sight of them and held her arms out to pull them into a fierce hug.

"How is he?" her dad asked.

Ginny sat down at George's feet to watch him and let her mother do the talking. She gasped when he started to stir and her gasp got everyone's attention.

"How do you feel, Georgie?" asked her mother immediately sitting down again and stroking his hair.

Ginny groaned with Fred when George replied with a lame pun of feeling "saint-like" because he was "holey".

"With the whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go with holey?" retorted Fred.

"Ah well," George shrugged looking around. "Where are Ron and Bill?" he asked.

"They're not back yet," answered their mum quietly.

A moment of tense silence followed her announcement. Ginny felt shaky from the anxiety and relief and then anxiety and relief—"I'm going to go wait outside for news," she said, standing suddenly, needing air.

"Me, too," said Harry, and followed her out.

When she stepped out into dark, she could just make out a handful of shadows standing on the edge of the wards surrounding the Burrow. Hagrid, Hermione, Lupin, and Kingsley all stood looking in different directions skyward, all hoping to catch a glimpse of a tell-tale blue light or some kind of movement. She watched as Harry sprinted to where Hermione stood and turned her around for a tight embrace.

 _Love reunited_ , thought Ginny feeling a bittersweetness clutch at her heart.

Minutes stretched past until finally, Ginny and Hermione spotted a broom streaking towards the ground.

"It's them!" screamed Hermione.

Tonks skidded the broom to a halt, sending pebbles flying everywhere, before she leapt off and into Lupin's arms. "Remus!" she cried, and Ginny felt yet another pang.

Ron stumbled his way over to where she, Harry, and Hermione stood and verily collapsed against Ginny's shoulder in relief.

"We were attacked and then chased off by Bellatrix and Rudolphus and then by the time we made it to Aunt Muriel's we'd missed our portkey and you know how she fusses about on a good day…" he explained.

They filled him in on what had happened with everyone else. Kingsley had to get back to his post but asked to be filled in when Bill and Fleur arrived, which happened not too long after his departure. Their thestral landed mere feet from the group when her parents came out to see what was going on.

"Mad-Eye's dead," declared Bill grimly. He told how Mundugus had panicked and Disapparated as soon as Death Eaters appeared, leaving Mad-Eye exposed. Voldemort had aimed at the Harry-Mundungus but since he had vanished, the spell hit Mad-Eye full in the face.

Ginny squeezed Ron a little tighter hearing yet another account of near-death experiences from her family and friends. She could have lost almost everyone tonight. Now it was Ron's turn to support her as he led the group back inside to where Fred and George sat joking while they waited for word.

No sooner was Ginny sitting shoulder to shoulder with brothers surrounding her when Bill handed her a glass containing a small amount of firewhiskey. Before she could open her mouth to question it, Bill had raised his glass, "To Mad-Eye," he said, and everyone else chorused, "Mad-Eye," and drank without a second thought.

Ginny took a deep breath and deciding it would probably be best not to actually taste it, she swallowed it all in one drink. It still burned all the way down and the effect was nearly instantaneous. She realized a little too late that refusing to eat dinner out of nerves earlier was probably not a good idea. Her limbs became heavy and she felt the warmth spread all over. The conversation going on around her was lost to her and she was fuzzily thinking that it was good she was squished so snuggly between the solid masses of her brothers or she imagined she'd be sliding onto the floor right about now.

=^.^=

Ginny never found out how she had gotten to her bed that night as the days that followed blurred together for her. Her mum had found out that Ron, Harry, and Hermione planned to drop out of Hogwarts and go off on some mission that Dumbledore had left for them. By eavesdropping only, she had managed to also find out that it had something to do with Voldemort; no one seemed very keen on letting her know anything, which, everyone seemed to agree, was for her "own protection". To further prevent any discussions from happening, her mum had them doing different chores and tasks around the house and yard in preparation for Bill and Fleur's wedding. Even when she was paired with one of the others for larger tasks, they were tight-lipped about what they were planning.

Ginny felt so isolated even though Order members joined them for dinner every night. Two days later the Delacours arrived and the night before the wedding they had a birthday party to celebrate Harry's birthday. Her mum had outdone herself with his Snitch cake and the small gathering was going smoothly until the Minister of Magic crashed the party. It turned out that Dumbledore had left Ron, Harry, and Hermione things in his will and the Ministry had waited the full number of days they legally could before finally releasing the items.

After their meeting ended in a small shouting match and Scrimgeour had left Harry's presence once again in a huff, the three showed the group what they had been given. Ron had gotten Dumbledore's Dilluminator, Hermione an old and worn copy of Beetle the Bard's in Antient Runes, and Harry the snitch he had caught in his first ever Quidditch match at Hogwarts.

After they had settled down to finally cut the cake, her mum insisted they all go to bed as they all had to get up early for the wedding in the morning. A few Order members stayed at their house, including Hagrid who pitched a tent in their field.

Ginny made her way to her room after brushing her teeth. She stepped into her room and her eyes immediately fell on the pale gold dress she was to wear to match Fleur's little sister, Gabrielle's, in the ceremony the following day hanging on her wardrobe door. The colour made her hair blaze and her eyes pop and she wished, not for the first time, that Draco was with her and that the times were different.

=^.^=

Ginny was surprised that despite all the work they had done over the last week to get everything just right, there were still several last minute details that had to be ironed out before they could all get ready. By early afternoon, her mum finally shooed her upstairs to shower and get dressed.

"I'll be up in twenty minutes to do your hair, Ginny!" she shouted up after her.

As she passed a window, Ginny saw her brothers and Harry, who was disguised as a boy from the village and being introduced as "Cousin Barny", greeting guests and leading them to the little golden chairs set up in the great white marquee.

True to her word, her mother showed up twenty minutes later to dry and style Ginny's long hair into soft waves with little gold roses cascading down her locks. She could see her mum getting misty-eyed in the mirror.

"Mum," said Ginny in gentle scolding, "I'm just a bridesmaid—and the wedding hasn't even started yet!"

With a watery chuckle, her mother said, "I know, you're right. You just look so beautiful; all grown-up, and Percy's not here, and Bill! He's actually getting married! I just don't know where the time has gone!" She leaned down and gave Ginny's cheek a small kiss. "Come on, we've only got a few minutes before it starts!"

The wedding went smoothly and the reception was lovely. Ginny danced with Harry, Fred, George, and a few others who she was pretty sure were actually distant cousins. It all seemed like something out of a dream, until it turned into a nightmare.

A good two hours into the reception, Ginny was being turned on the dance floor by Fred when a shining Lynx fell gracefully through the canopy. Everyone closest immediately stopped and a wave of silence spread out like ripples on a pond. The Patronus's mouth opened wide and it spoke with Kingsley's deep booming voice that easily carried to every guest present.

" _The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming._ "


End file.
